To create the Washington Water Commission. This bill finds that there is a critical need to establish a single purpose agency to administer Washington's water resource laws and that the agency be directly accountable to Washington voters. The bill declares that the findings of the governor's Washington Competitiveness Council released December 11, 2001, are accurate and that a Water Commission is necessary for the effective management of the state’s water resources. The bill declares that all powers, duties, and functions of the Department of Ecology (DOE) pertaining to those powers and duties set out in this act are transferred to the commission. See also Companion HB 5087.   Official Text and Analysis.

But the bill did not receive a hearing by the cutoff date so it is considered a “dead bill” (although technically the bill could become active at any time during the 2003-2004 session).